Of course,
that
analysis
ignores that
the ruling
came from a
judge who —
though
appointed by
President
Clinton —
was
originally
nominated by
Arizona's
Republican
Senator Kyl
who has
praised her
as a fair
jurist. And
the decision
will also
likely cause
a number of
moderate
supporters
of the bill
around the
country to
rethink
their
positions.
But there
are two
major
reasons why
that kind of
knee-jerk
response is
just plain
wrong:
Reason 1:
The polling
on this
issue is
very clear.
The position
a candidate
takes on the
Arizona
lawsuit
appears to
affect the
voting
decisions of
only one
group:
Hispanic
voters.
The passage
of the
Arizona
"papers,
please"
anti-immigration
law has
forced
Republican
politicians
around the
country into
a political
box canyon
that does
not offer an
easy escape.
For fear of
offending
the emergent
Tea Party —
and other
anti-immigrant
zealots in
their own
base — they
are
precipitating
a massive
realignment
of Hispanic
voters
nationwide.
According to
data
released a
month ago by
Public
Policy
Polling
(PPP), Texas
Governor
Rick Perry
lost his
early lead
over
Democratic
challenger
Bill White
and the race
is now tied.
The movement
from a
previous PPP
poll in
February
comes
entirely
from
Hispanic
voters. PPP
reports
"With
white voters
Perry led
54-36 then
and leads
55-35 now.
With black
voters White
led 81-12
then and 70
-7 now. But
with
Hispanics
Perry has
gone from
leading
53-41 to
trailing
55-21....there
is no doubt
the
Arizona
immigration
bill is
popular
nationally.
But if it
causes
Hispanics to
change their
voting
behavior
without a
parallel
shift among
whites then
it's going
to end up
playing to
Democratic
advantage
this fall."
The punditry
sometimes
forgets
in politics,
intensity is
often just
as important
as poll
percentages.
For many
Hispanic
voters, the
Arizona
immigration
law is an
insult. It
is an attack
on their
very
identity.
And it is
certainly a
litmus test
that tells a
Hispanic
voter
whether or
not a
political
candidate is
on their
side — the
critical
threshold
test of
voter
decision-making.
The same is
simply not
true for
non-Hispanic
voters. As a
result, by
allowing the
Party to be
defined by
the
anti-immigrant
zealots —
and refusing
to lift a
finger to
pass
comprehensive
immigration
reform in
Congress —
the
Republicans
are playing
with
political
fire.
Polling show
similar dips
in support
among
Hispanic
voters for
Republican
candidates
in
California
and Colorado
— and a
whopping
drop in
support for
the
Republican
Senate
candidate in
Nevada.
Polls show
voter
decisions
among
persuadable
voters in
swing
districts
without
large
Hispanic
populations
will be
determined
by questions
about the
qualities of
individual
candidates,
and whether
or not
voters can
be convinced
to hand the
keys back to
the gang who
just two
years ago
wrecked the
economy.
Remember all
the Tea
Party and
anti-immigrant
activists
are not
persuadable
voters.
Democrats
were never
going to get
any of their
support. For
persuadable
voters,
immigration
will not
define
candidate
choices
among voters
who are not
Hispanic.
Reason 2.
Completely
apart from
the impact
the Arizona
law has on
persuadable
voters, it
will have an
energizing
effect on mobilizable
Hispanic
voters —
voters who
would vote
Democratic
but are
unlikely to
vote unless
they are
mobilized.
Until the
Arizona law
came along,
may Hispanic
voters were
demoralized
by the
difficulty
of passing
promised
comprehensive
immigration
reform.
The passage
of the
Arizona law
changed the
equation. On
a party line
vote,
Republicans
did
something in
Arizona that
was a
fundamental
assault on
the Hispanic
community.
Republicans
across
America have
endorsed it.
But what is
just as
important,
the
Democratic
President
took up the
battle to
defend the
community —
and just won
a major
victory.
The Arizona
law is far
from dead. A
full trial
on the
merits of
the law
remains. But
in enjoining
its
application,
the judge
found the
Obama
Administration
is likely to
win on the
merits with
respect to
the
unconstitutionality
of key
sections.
The anger of
the Hispanic
community at
Republicans,
coupled with
the sense of
empowerment
they —
and the
President —
could take
on the law
and win —
will
certainly
energize
Hispanic
voter
turnout this
fall.
But you say,
this
election is
about swing
districts
and there
aren't many
Hispanics in
swing
districts.
Think again.
An analysis
of the major
swing
districts —
known in
Democratic
Party
parlance as
Frontline
Districts
with
Democratic
incumbents
and Red to
Blue
districts
with
Republican
incumbents
shows the
following:
House
There are an
estimated
1,009,398
Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters in
the 57
Frontline
and Red to
Blue
Districts.
(Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters are
defined as
voters who
would likely
vote
Democratic
but are
unlikely to
vote unless
they are
mobilized).
Twenty six
of the 57
Districts
have more
than 10,000
Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters.
In 17 of the
57
Districts,
Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters
constitute
9% or more
of the total
expected
turnout in
the race.
Overall
Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters
constitute
8.03% of
expected
turnout in
the 57
Districts
combined.
That means
these voters
constitute
more than a
sixth of the
total vote a
candidate
needs to
win.
Senate
There are an
estimated
5,603,697
mobilizable
Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters in
the 19 swing
Senate
states.
Twelve swing
Senate
states have
over 50,000
Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters each.
In eight of
the 19
Senate
states,
Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters
constitute 9
percent or
more of the
total
expected
turnout in
the race.
Overall
Democratic
Mobilizable
Hispanic
Voters
constitute
11.61% of
the expected
turnout in
the 19
states
combined. In
other words,
in the
average
Senate state
this vote
constitutes
more than
one fifth of
the number
of votes a
candidate
needs to
win.
The impact
of the
Hispanic
vote will be
particularly
pronounced
in swing
Senate
states such
as Nevada,
California,
Illinois,
Colorado and
Florida. It
will have an
impact in
Connecticut,
Ohio and
even Indiana
and North
Carolina..
Bottom line
is clear. On
balance, the
Arizona law
suit is good
news for
Democrats.